Dorcy Super 1 watt CR123

Be careful when purchasing these @ Target. When I arrived @ Target to purchase this light they had 2 in stock. I pulled out my Spyderco Native and opened both packages. After installing the batteries and firing up the two lights I found one to have a greenish tint and was quite dim. The other was very white and much brighter. Moral of the story, check you lights before purchasing them. It saves a return trip to the store and much disappointment. It is too hot outside and gas is too expensive.

Kind Regards

700

Provided that you don't get caught cutting open the packaging to test the lights.
I think most stores don't take to kindly to such activity. They may haul you in for shoplifting.
Imagine trying to explain BIN coding to the judge.

A safer approach is to buy up all the lights, test them in your car, and return the extras. If you're lucky enough to find the first package to contain a snowy white version, please don't cut open the rest so that fellow CPFers can get one.

I hit the Luxeon lottery on my Super 1W, amazingly white beam.

i love my 1 watt dorcy as a matter of fact i like it more than my surefires why? casue it was 20 bucks and i wont cry if i lose it and its so darn white

All three of the ones I got are bright and have great tint. I don't think this model has tint problems generally, and so I don't think opening the packages is warranted unless you get permission first.

Well... the very reason I did this is because others on this very forum complaining of the green tint. The Dorcy Super 1 Watt is fantastic and I would not want anyone receive a sub par light. To each his own, I just hope we can agree to disagree and walk away friends.

Cheers

Agreed !

WNG said:

Imagine trying to explain BIN coding to the judge..

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I agree that it does stink in today's throw away society that they package so much stuff so that you can't even try it before you buy it.

It's even worse when you cut yourself on the plastic that requires scissors or a knife to open. The blister packs from the warehouse clubs are extremely annoying. Some folks with bad joints can't even get the product out of the package and those that can may end up in the ER with a lacerated hand.:thumbsdow

I got one a couple days ago and it has a mostly white beam with just a slight hint of green barely noticable to the layperson.

My main issue is the tailcap, it threads on in less that two complete turns. I would say no more than two threads are holding the cap on and thats not good odds to me. If they get crossthreaded or worn its done for.

This one is in the package and going back the first day I get time to run by a Target.

Other than that issue (which is a deal breaker for me) I see no other problems with the little light.

I've also noticed that mine has very little threading on the tailcap. It appears as if there is plenty, but like yours, little of the thread actually engages. I am still a little concerned about this.

I've been surprised to hear so little about this issue. I'd think more people would have noticed and complained about this problem.

Otherwise, it's a fine light for twenty bucks.

Mine has very little threading as well. I thought about it a little, but it hasn't concerned me since.

I could swear the other two I had were threaded a little more than that..

The tailcap on my Dorcy CR123A didn't require many turns to fully seat, but that hasn't been in a problem in use.

I don't loosen the tailcap to lock out the light because accidental activation is unlikely. The tailswitch is protected by an aluminum ridge and must be pushed far to turn the light on.

The Dorcy CR123A is one of the best values available so widely. I consider it a better value than the new Inova X1 (with blue tint and problematic tailcap).

The Dorcy is one of the whitest lights I have (little or no tint). Bright? For comparison, its brightness is somewhere between the primary and the maximum settings on my new HDS EDC Basic 42XRGT.

parnass said:

I don't loosen the tailcap to lock out the light because accidental activation is unlikely. The tailswitch is protected by an aluminum ridge and must be pushed far to turn the light on

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I like the design of the tailcap as well, the recessed switch would be hard to accidentally turn on and the rounded end rides very well in the pocket.

That said I just don't think it would hold up to hard use. With that short a thread bite its too vulnerable. Changing the battery a number of times could comprimise the few threads that do bite and I would dare to say a good hard impact like dropping it would easily cause it to work loose.

If not for that it would probably have been my favorite pocket light.

I have plenty of lights that are much better and brighter for hard use. This one will just be an around the house bright light and for checking out hard to read things like computer circuit boards and the like.

I really like the whiteness, all mine needs is a mineral glass lens, since it's currently lenseless. The plastic one that comes with it is crap IMO.

In the early Dorcy Super 1W threads, I made note of my tailcap's lack of thread bite in my mini review.

I think it's a manufacturing issue Dorcy let pass at such a low price point.
too many have the same loose thread situation to be an isolated case.

Overall, I have to agree with the previous post that it's a better deal than the Inova X1. My X1's tailcap is more of a PITA than the Dorcy. Even with cleaning of contact points, my X1 switch is usually intermittent. Disappointing.

With its snowy white bright as heck output, the Dorcy is one of my favorite lights.

Note: perhaps a few layers of teflon thread tape could thicken the tailcap threads to cause more to bite?

Whats wrong with the new X1? I thought they were all the rave now that they have a reflector type lens. Got a 5 out of 5 in the review I read. I was going to get one when I take the Dorcy back so let me know whats wrong with the switch before im forced to return yet another light lol.

Nothing wrong with the X1s I have, even the 3 new ones. On one I had to use a piece of sand paper and sand the end of the body to remove a slight bit of excess HA, which caused a bit of flicker and you had to really screw it down for it to work. 30 second job and it works great. Perhaps I am lucky but so far no issues.

Not to hijack this thread-- but the X1's switch, because of the small size of the rubber dome over the "switch" (actually a plunger that moves the (-) contact plate and forces it to contact the bare end of the flashlight tube), tends to be a little stiff at first. The X5 and X0, X03, etc., with the same style switch don't suffer from this problem because the dome is much larger and gives you more area to press.

Some of the early 2nd gen X1s seemed to have excess tailcap play which made this whole scheme even sloppier. Also, there are occasionally problems with a bit of HA on the end of the battery tube that needs to be cleaned up to ensure good contact between the contact plate and the tube.

I bought one of the first 2nd gen X1s when they were available and found that the switch was excessively stiff. I've EDCd it for several months now and it has really broken in and lost all of its original stiffness. I regularly use it in intermittent mode now.

ObDorcy: I sold one nice white Super 1 Watt because I thought it was kind of cheaply built (and didn't like the fact that the LED is completely thermally insulated). Afterwards, I missed the excellent tint of the RXOH star, and bought another. After a few days, the tailcap started consistently loosening up. I kept snugging it, and it soon stripped out. It basically rattled around right up until it was extremely snug on the body- even worse than the first one, so they definitely have some loose production tolerances.

I ended up returning the thing, as I would consider it to be defective to have lasted less than a week.

With the dorcy, you're paying for a nice $2.00+ Luxeon star; for the Inova it's for their engineering and QC, not for the $.10 Nichia.

The only thing I've found wrong with my new style Inova X1 is the headache inducing blue Nichia Led it has. Bright for a single 5mm LED.. but THE COLOR... YUCK. I can't believe they can call it white with a straight face.


Dorcy Super 1W vs. Inova X1

Wow that pic says it all.

I love my Dorcy Super 1 Watt!

This light is fantastic for pocket carry.